C.L.N. Firearm

The C.L.N. Firearm is one of two weapons that Major Fletcher is issued as an officer of The Corporation's CLN division, the other being the N.R.G. Weapon. The CLN Firearm uses 'traditional' ammunition, such as bullets, buckshot, grenades, and the like. These rounds are constructed as needed from a reserve of raw nano-materials, which can be topped up with red canisters found throughout the city. Additionally, the CLN Firearm will regenerate its own ammunition whenever its reserve falls below 100 rounds.

Contents

The Pirahna is the default mode for the CLN Firearm, and the only setting Fletcher possesses at the beginning of Hard Reset. The Piranha fires high-velocity bullets with relatively good accuracy at a cost of one round per shot. While each round deals relatively little damage, the Piranha has a high rate of fire and its rounds travel at near-instantaneous speed. Thus, the overall effect is low 'burst' damage, but high 'damage-per-second'.

Secondary Mode: Cyclops Magnifying Scope

The Cyclops upgrade adds an alternate fire feature to the Piranha that brings up a telescopic scope feature, which allows Fletcher more precise aim at greater distances.

Upgrade: Firestorm Turbo Engine

The Firestorm upgrade increases the Piranha's rate of fire even further, making it more akin to a machine gun than an assault rifle.

The second mode of the CLN Firearm converts it into a double-barreled shotgun, which fires cones of armor-piercing pellets at a cost of 9 rounds per shot. The firing rate of the Muraena system is relatively slow, and the wide spread of the pellets makes it a poor choice for any distance beyond very close range. However, at close range, each shell does a staggering amount of damage.

A meter will appear on the left side of Fletcher's crosshairs when the Muraena module is active. Each shot fired will fill this meter, which represents the shotgun overheating. If this meter fills up completely, the shotgun will lock up until it cools down enough to fire safely again.

Secondary Mode: Hammerhead EMP Flechettes

The Hammerhead module allows Fletcher to enhance each burst of pellets with a strong electromagnetic charge, at a cost of less damage and additional ammunition. The charged pellets temporarily scramble AI circuits to stun them for a short time. A popular strategy is to 'open' with the Hammerhead EMP shot, and then use the Muraena shotgun blasts to 'finish off' the stunned A.I.(s).

Octopus Recoil Springs

The Octopus upgrade increases the firing rate of the Combat Shotgun mode, which includes both the Muraena Shotgun and Hammerhead EMP modules.

The third CLN Firearm mode fires explosive shells in a steep arc at a cost of 13 rounds per grenade. Unlike the N.R.G. Weapon's Shock Grenades, Thumper grenades ricochet off of solid objects and detonate on a timed fuse of 3 seconds; however, they will also detonate automatically if they collide with an enemy. This, combined with the arc of the projectiles and the blast area of each grenade is good for hitting A.I.'s around corners or hiding behind cover. The range of the grenade launcher is not very far however, as the projectiles are heavily affected by gravity. Range can be improved by aiming up at an angle, maximizing the arc of the grenade's travel.

Secondary Mode: Nebula Gravity Grenades

The Nebula secondary fire mode causes the CLN to fire a grenade containing a dense quantum matter charge, which causes a small singularity (a miniature black hole) when it ruptures. The singularity slows and drags enemies towards the point of impact, forcing them to huddle together in a small group. Much like the Combat Shotgun, the Grenade Launcher's primary and secondary fire pair well together as a 'one-two' combination, with the gravity grenades drawing enemies closer together to better take advantage of the explosive grenade's splash damage.

Upgrade: Trebuchet Reaction Amplifier

The Trebuchet upgrade increases both the splash damage area of the Thumper explosive grenades, and the radius of the Nebula's gravity-well grenades.

The fourth module installs a Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher, which fires a self-propelling explosive projectile that travels at a relatively slow pace. Each rocket costs 24 ammo to fire, and explodes on impact with enemies or solid objects. The Ares RPG Launcher is suited for dealing splash damage to enemies too far away to reliably hit with the Thumper grenades.

Secondary Mode: Razor Aiming Module

The secondary fire upgrade installs a laser targeting system to assist the Ares RPG launcher. Rockets fired by the CLN Firearm will attempt to 'home in' on whatever object the laser is currently pointed at. In this way, rockets can be 'steered' towards enemies that do not remain stationary long enough to hit with unguided missiles.

Upgrade: Trinity High-Explosive Barrage

The upgrade adds cluster-bomb warheads to the Ares RPG. Whenever a rocket detonates, it drops three explosive grenades that fall to the ground, exploding on contact with any solid object they collide with. This effectively extends the rocket blast radius, and allows Fletcher to 'bomb' areas by detonating the rockets against objects above enemies behind cover.

The Arachna module allows the CLN Firearm to attach magnetic limpet mines to floors, walls, ceilings, and other solid objects. These mines operate on a proximity fuse by default; when they detect an enemy within the mine's blast radius, they detonate. Arachna mines are best-suited for blockading obvious paths of attack, weakening strong enemies and taking out waves of weaker foes altogether.

Secondary Mode: Atilla Manual Detonator

The Atilla upgrade allows Fletcher to detonate Arachna mines by remote, overriding the mines' proximity fuses. This is more useful for focusing the blast of the mines on a single, powerful enemy, rather than wasting them on waves of lesser foes. Additionally, they prove useful for setting off chain-reactions of environmental hazards, such as electrical equipment and fuel canisters.

Upgrade: Avalanche Extended Pod

The Avalanche upgrade extends the number of manually detonated mines that can be active at the same time.